As the scope of practice of Certified ATs and the profession of Athletic Therapy expands, it becomes evident that not all healing happens in the clinic or at a sporting event. Sometimes, it happens underground, mid-shift or beside a scoop truck in the cold.
Shawn Barbisan has been a Certified AT for over a decade. We sat down with him to unpack his experience working in Northern Ontario with industrial miners in a remote gold mining operation. His career path is one of pivots, purpose and deep commitment to healing in unconventional spaces. It also illustrates just how expansive and adaptable the role of a Certified Athletic Therapist can be, far beyond the world of sport.
As a former competitive volleyball player, Shawn spent over ten years playing the game, including some time overseas. But when that chapter of his life ended, he returned home unsure of what came next.
This period of transition would mark the beginning of Shawn’s Athletic Therapy career. A friend, who is now his wife, was studying Athletic Therapy and her interest sparked his own. “Upon discovering Athletic Therapy and learning about the profession, I realized this is what I want. I’m a healer by nature, so I took it well,” Shawn shared.
Shawn enrolled in the Athletic Therapy program at Sheridan College, and once he was immersed in the field, he knew he found his path. “Once I applied myself to something I truly enjoyed,” he said, “it just kind of clicked.”
After graduating, Shawn spent a few years honing his skills through clinical field work across the Greater Toronto Area. Eventually, he made a bold decision to accept a position as a Certified AT with a gold mining company in Northern Ontario. It was a dramatic shift from the world of urban clinics, but it opened his eyes to a new kind of athlete: the industrial worker.
“It was a complete 180,” Shawn said. Shawn found himself boarding a small hopper plane each Thursday to fly into a remote 700-person hamlet in Northern Ontario. It was a far cry from the city-based clinics he still worked part-time at, and it came with a vastly different patient base.
“Mining is a very different type of work,” he explained. “When people think of miners, they picture a hard hat and pickaxe but that has significantly changed over the years.” Today, mining is highly industrialized with 10-12 hour shifts, heavy machinery and demanding physical conditions, usually all within a very isolated location.
For a Certified AT stepping into this setting, adaptation was essential. Shawn quickly realized that he needed to take a flexible, multi-faceted approach. His role ranged from hands-on clinical care for acute injuries to job-site observation and treating workers on the move. He also led information sessions, morning stretch routines and played an active role in engaging with the broader mine community.
From Thursday to Wednesday each week, Shawn was immersed in this world, bringing with him an extensive knowledge in Athletic Therapy and a goal of healing this very distinct client base. “Some of these workers were sitting in a truck all day. Others were operating scoop trucks with their necks turned sideways for hours. They’re in compromised positions for a long period of time,” Shawn said.
The result is a wide range of acute issues that usually turn chronic, from back and neck pain to repetitive strain injuries. Despite the unique environment and job demands, Shawn continued to ground his practice in fundamentals of Athletic Therapy: physical stretching, movement education, and progressive exercise to counter the toll of physically demanding, yet often static, roles.
And it’s not just mining. Industrial athletes across sectors, whether it be construction, manufacturing or factory work, are often all caught in a culture of “go-go-go with no recovery” as he described. Certified ATs, like Shawn, are uniquely positioned to disrupt that cycle. By embedding themselves within these environments, Certified ATs build trust through presence, observation and consistency, and they adapt their treatment approaches to meet workers where they are both physically and mentally.
“At first, you might get some workers looking at you funny when you say, ‘Hey we’re going to do some morning stretches,’” Shawn recalled. “But it's the same thing you do on the field, you are observing how someone moves and you're giving them corrections in real time.”
In Shawn’s experience, even simple, observational comments could open the door to care. “Sometimes it's as easy as saying, I saw you doing that job over there, have you ever had back pain before?’” that can lead to meaningful treatment and lasting connection, Shawn explained.
Over time, as Shawn’s client base grew, so did his philosophy as a Certified AT. What began on the volleyball court evolved into something far broader, a career that spanned across clinics, fields, industrial sites and eventually back into a clinical setting, where he works today. Through it all, one thing remained constant: the desire to help people heal.
His time spent in the mining industry left a lasting impact that exposed him to new types of overuse injuries and reignited an appreciation for the foundational principles of Athletic Therapy. “It was also a reminder that this profession is flexible. The mining industry is a niche, yes, but it’s well within our scope. The Certified AT is well adapted to mold themselves into this kind of position,” Shawn shared.
When we asked what Athletic Therapy means to him today, Shawn’s answer was simple and powerful: "Achieving health. That’s really what it's all about. We’re all working towards the same goal; you just use the tools you have to get there.”
His story challenges the common misconception that Athletic Therapy is only for athletes. It is a profession that is built on adaptability, critical thinking and human connection. Whether it is a remote mining town, an underground worksite, or a factory floor, Certified ATs are distinctly suited to bridge gaps in care and bring healing where it is needed most.
Because healing doesn’t only happen in clinics or under stadium lights, it happens wherever people need help moving better and living healthier lives.
Are you a Certified AT that is working in a diverse or "unconventional" place? We would love to hear from you! Contact us comms@athletictherapy.org. Or learn more about the Athletic Therapy profession today: athletictherapy.org
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